Category - Marketing

“Headlines are a special breed of difficulty because they have to accomplish so many things in such a small amount of space.”

Headers, captions, post titles, are more important than your article itself because your readers will always make it the measure of whether your article is boring or interesting. Here’s the deal, no matter how awesome and well-researched your article is, if your headline is weak, no one will read it.

Now, you ask, what makes a better headline? The truth is, it’s more simple than you think it is! Yay!

All you need to know are the most basic THREE:

1. Make the encounter SHORT and SWEET.

According to Digital Marketing institution, Hubspot, the ideal headline should have a maximum character count of of 65 words, before it get’s cut off in search engines.

Get your headline to bear only one thought. Never ramble as this will just confuse your audience. But also make sure that your headline actually describes your article. The surest way for an article to remain unread is when your headline didn’t get the memo about what the article is talking about.

So, keep it short, sweet and specific.

You only have 6 words with a total of 65 characters to show your potential readers the stuff that your article is made of, so make the most out of it! Emojis, anyone? ☺☺☺

2. Be NEGA Nancy.

Ironically enough, Hubspot says that the words: NO, WITHOUT and STOP, lead to many more shares.

The presumption is to always be positive and perky, right? But being goody-two-shoes don’t get readership clicks. Rather, tickle your reader’s curiosity with negative wording. Prey on your reader’s insecurities by telling them how they are doing their life administration wrongly and unless they read your article, they will be doomed. Works every time!

3. Use NUMBERS.

This is still a numbers game even from this angle. Headlines with numbers (digitally-written) fare well than those without. Numbers draw readers to your article and their favorite number is… 7! They hate 13. Also, (aside from 7, I guess) rounded numbers also work better than non-rounded ones.

Don’t make the number too much either. Otherwise, it would scare your readers. I mean, who in their right minds would click, “500 ways to organize your closet,” right?

If all else fails, go to www.co-schedule.com. Trust me, I’ve been there.

People often aspire to be part of the organizing team for events, mostly because of its perks, may it be the free food or merchandise, or the chance to be up close and personal with the event guests. However, events are not easy to organize, as they entail a lot of preparation on the organizing team’s part. One must be prepared for insanity — a lot of sleepless nights, countless stressful meetings that run for hours on end, and being pushed beyond their limits that a nervous breakdown is almost inevitable.

From strategic planning up until event delivery and closure, the entire event life cycle is a challenge in itself, but many will agree that the positive feedback they receive after the event make the experience worthwhile and much more bearable.

Of course, organizers don’t get out of these events clueless. A lot of valuable lessons are learned, some that would have saved time and kept their sanity a little more intact. Let’s take a moment to review these lessons together. This is not meant to discourage you from organizing your own events, mind you, but this is so that you can plan, execute your tasks properly, and save yourself the heartache while it’s still early.

In Digital Marketing, while content is king, community management is the king’s heir. What happens when your perfect pitch was able to achieve viral levels of reach due to the ads you employed it with. When the crowd notices you and they start coming, you need crowd control. Or, community management in the online parlance.

We have all been there at some point in our lives when something breaks down and we need to do that dreaded thing called “Calling Support.”

After we’ve punched in the hotline number, a robotic voice clip directs us to do one million things, but if you’re patient it finally reveals the secret to talk to a real person which is, “Press 0.” A chirpy voice greets us and asks how he/ she may help. While you were readying to shout Hallelujah at this juncture, you need to know that the word ‘help’ in these instances isn’t exactly equated to “making things easier for you” nor “offering their services to make this world a better place to live.”

More often than not, “help” for these voices at the other side of the phone means “I will try to see if the response matrix provides an answer, otherwise you are doomed on your own. Sorry don’t care.”

What’s the next best thing to do aside from throwing your phone across the room (which by the way, really helps in getting out all that tension)? Hunt for the company’s social media sites and prepare to break their community manager’s picnic.

And this works because brands are invested in their online reputation. They are very sensitive to netizen’s comments because these have the ability to reach a lot of people in a short time. Deleting them would be futile, as the platforms have relatively democratic policies with regard to user content.

Just ask Justin and his experience with shampoo brand Head and Shoulders:

And Chip, who isn’t seeking any redress but simply to connect with Applebee’s, who at one point of this adorable virtual friendship, even helped him pick out his Halloween costume:

And in the local scene, international chain Mcdonald’s tries to pacify this complaining customer:

So you see, the real king here is real time marketing. When the spotlight is on you, you have to perform and you must perform well.

On social media, marketers are finding value in relevant and interesting stories in presenting their clients’ messages or promoting their products online. If they learned the basics of writing, it is that the headline of a story is as important as the opening of the story, if they wish for their target audience to read from start to finish.

The headline is considered the critical part of your content because it is often the reader’s first interaction with your brand. The effort you exert in putting up your story will go to waste if you will not give the headline equal attention you did with the body of the story. It may be comprised of just 140 characters or less but it has a big impact on your brand.

So, to avoid wasting your efforts, you must really take the headline seriously.

With many people going online and becoming aware of the perks of e-commerce, two websites—one described as Goliath and the other as David—made it an integral part of their platforms to educate the public on responsible buying and selling.

In the first Kapihan tech talk show initiated by TechTalks.ph, a non-profit, independent community of business, technology, and start-up enthusiasts, at Radisson Hotel yesterday, OLX.ph and Istorya.net showed that two channels with different teams can work harmoniously at proliferating the practice of online buying and selling.

Here is a story you often hear: Once upon a time, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) left to work in another country. He sent money to his family every so often, boosting the Philippines’ economy in the process. Then he came back, got sick and was no longer qualified for another overseas contract. He was left alone to fend for himself.

We do not know yet if he lived happily—or sadly—ever after. What we do know is that some initiatives are undertaken to address this polar extreme: OFWs help the country largely through remittances while the country offers little help when OFWs are in need.

One of these initiatives comes in the form of AXA Insurance Online (AXA iON) that AXA Philippines (Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp.) set up for OFWs and Filipinos. What is considered as the Philippines’ first online life insurance store is also a portal that can bridge financial gaps by presenting itself as a viable investment option for OFWs.

Social media is the best place for you to find, reach and interact with your friends or fan base in real time. BUT it is also a site infested by an army of grammar Nazis.

Watchful eyes like that of a hawk, just waiting for you to make a grammatical blunder. Grammatical errors, big or small, are all the same in the eyes of a grammar Nazi. None will be forgiven. One wrong move and you find yourself in the black list. Pretty scary, right?

Wedding planners in Cebu, for instance, used to bank on flyers, leaflets, feelers, brochures, and word-of-mouth for reference to have their services promoted. To help sustain what they do, they resort to putting up billboards, tapping traditional media, and participating in expositions.

But with today’s social media where everything seems to be just a click away, wedding packages and related services can be perused and arranged through the most-used information sharing sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, and Youtube. The number of platforms is expanding, providing easy access and stiffening competition never ever imagined 20 years ago.

A weak mentoring environment was once identified by the Philippine Development Foundation (PhilDev) as among the top seven issues in the Philippine’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, beside the need for entrepreneurship programs in colleges and universities, regulatory red tape and weak access to capital funding.

Hence, the issue of mentoring for start-ups and small and medium enterprises was taken up in one of the breakout sessions of the IDEA Global Entrepreneurship Symposium 2015 on Feb. 26 at Radisson Blu Hotel.

It’s February! The love month! And retailers are on a rush to push out the best campaigns they can come up with to make sure you end up opening your wallets and grabbing their goods for your mi amore.

This is also one of the holidays we love and the Valentine’s Day content put out this month deserves a mention.

Which companies are rockstars when it comes to holiday promotions? Here are some catchy ones we’ve seen on our feeds!

1. Krispy Kreme’s #ValentinesDoughnuts campaign

Krispy Kreme is strong in crafting promotions that tease our sweet tooth! No wonder. For their #ValentinesDoughnuts campaign this February, the brand launched a Facebook promotion asking 10 questions each day on revolving around, well, love and doughnuts. Winner is picked daily based on the best stories shared and submitted.

On top of that, they are sharing P100 coupons for the Valentine’s Season for doughnut deliveries. So sweet!

2. Ford Mustang Speed Dating Prank

Fast and furious. That’s the kind of date you will encounter with Ford Mustang’s Valentine’s video.

Guys are lured into thinking their date (who turns out to be a stunt driver) was a lady who can’t drive stick. Turns out she can blow your mind with her stunts on a Mustang! Now that’s SPEED dating. Literally.

3. Babbel’s Valentine’s Tales

Content can also be a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. And Valentine’s Tales is great way for Babbel, a platform to learn new languages, to showcase the different ways to say “I love you.” Ti amo!

4. The Outlets at Pueblo Verde’s Selfie with Love

In the Philippines, there are LOADS of selfie contests for all occasions. What more for Valentine’s Day? It’s the perfect time to get cheesy with the one you love.

The Outlets at Pueblo Verde, the first outlet shopping mall in VisMin, launches their own selfie promo along with the Love Feast dinner buffet on Valentine’s Day.

(Disclosure: Third Team Media works with The Outlets at Pueblo Verde team for social media campaigns)

5. Havaianas’ Get Spotted

On both the major malls of Cebu – Ayala and SM City – Havianas has chosen to make it different. Get spotted with your Havianas on Valentine’s Day and receive treats! Only problem I’m seeing here is that they might have a hard time seeing ladies in flipflops. The women will most probably be in high heels off to a date with their loved ones! Wouldn’t you agree?

6. Max Cebu in Ayala’s Valentine Meal

A photo can speak a thousand words. Here’s Max’s Restaurant being upfront about what your meal would look like with your date if you choose to celebrate with them. I wonder how much it would be though?

7. SaveMore’s Candy Box

Supermarket SaveMore at SM City Cebu gives out free valentine candy boxes if you grab 500php worth of their Yellow Tags. Ah, the moms would love this for the kiddos.

8. GuestList.ph’s Free Fall Party

What better way for a startup to grab lists and lists of user base than to host a party! Together with major sponsors like OLX and MTV, GuestList.ph brings the part to UP with this Valentine’s event.

9. Looloo App’s Dinner for Two

Ah! Free food! Why not? For an app like Looloo with a huge list of merchants, we’re thinking this would be a lovely collaboration between them. Congrats to the winners! Super yummy steaks right there.

10. BE Resorts’ Be Romantic

Now for another romatic dinner promo. This one’s at a resort so feel free to relish on fresh sea breeze when you win BE Resorts’ promo.

Which ones haven’t been mentioned here but caught your eye? Share them on the comments too. 🙂